Everything You Need to Know About CBD Tampons

“The time of the month” is notoriously marked by discomfort. For women, that can be cramps, body sensitivities, PMS, or the uncertainty of when Aunt Flo is going to turn up and interrupt the day. The only thing that is somewhat certain is that she’ll come knocking every month, and preparations should always be made.

Preparations usually come packaged in little tearable sleeves, but protecting your clothes is a whole lot different than protecting your comfort. Tampons may stop the mess, but what about the bodily stress?

Since (metaphorical) Eve bit the (proverbial) apple, women have had to endure the aches and pains of a monthly menstrual cycle. Over-the-counter pills, heating pads, and big batches of chocolate were the closest thing to champions of pain until a new gladiator stepped into the ring: CBD tampons.

Why Period Cramps Happen

Periods don’t like to go out on their own. They notoriously show up to the monthly meeting with a gaggle of uncomfortable-to-host friends. Anxiety, abdominal pain, and headaches all welcome themselves without an invitation and stick around for far too long.

Known as dysmenorrhea, cramps are the results of uterine contractions. These are common in most women, especially those who have never given birth. It can be expected 1-2 days leading up to menstrual bleeding, or it can come hand in hand.

Though it’s often as uncomfortable as all hell, it’s usually not much to worry about. There are some more severe cases, attributed to secondary dysmenorrhea and other reproductive organ irregularities. These issues are often much more difficult to cope with and measures can be taken to improve those symptoms.

Doctors will know what seems right and what seems wrong and, much of the time, you might too. Cramps and lower back pain are common and women learn to expect them. Though they’re consistent, they can still be disagreeable enough to want to do something about it.

Aside from the physical pain, periods tend to bring on or elevate levels of anxiety in many women. The three culprits to this emotional rollercoaster are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. As your period begins to come on, these hormones dip, dive, and climb, causing some instability in how your body reacts.

Estrogen plays a particularly important role in these reactions. It helps to create and distribute serotonin, the chemical largely associated with keeping us happy. As your body prepares for menstruation, estrogen levels drop and, as a result, anxiety and depression levels can rise.

Why CBD Might Help

Tampons have become a mainstream device for women only recently. Similarly, CBD became a mainstream commodity within living memory of millennials. It wasn’t until recently they were joined together to fight for a common cause.

Calling on cannabis for cramps is hardly a new concept. We now have a clear understanding of CBD as a separate cannabinoid than the psychoactive THC, but these pain-dulling chemicals have been in play for centuries.

CBD is widely accredited with its pain-reducing effects and has consequently been considered as a crutch for days filled with cramps. In working on the ECS receptors that communicate pain to the brain, CBD can help to alleviate some of the pain that comes from the goings-on of menstruation.

The other upsetting side effect of cramps can also be quieted with a little help of CBD. CBD has the ability to limit the neurotransmitters that send messages of anxiety to the brain.

Calmed nerves? Check. Eased cramps? Check. But what’s the best way to get these results? Why, a CBD tampon of course.

Tampons/Suppositories

Getting right to the source of the pain is the idea behind CBD tampons. Also considered by some retailers as suppositories, inserting CBD right to the heart of the problem is giving many women the much-sought-after period relief.

There are many known ways of using CBD. It can be smoked through a vaporizer, eaten in edibles, or absorbed by the skin via topicals. CBD tampons offer the ability to insert it directly into the vagina.

Inserting directly to the source of the problem has its upsides (and a few downsides, as well). The vagina is very porous. When taking medicine orally, whether it be CBD or over the counter drugs, they’re susceptible to the rigor of the body’s attempt to break it down. Unlike taking supplements orally, inserting it directly into the vagina can increase the effectiveness by avoiding the first pass effect.

CBD tampons are also effective against menstrual discomfort because they avoid absorption by the rest of the body. This localized approach gives your reproductive tissue the chance to use all of the active cannabinoids for the main cause and the greater good.

As new as it may seem to us now, CBD tampons and suppositories are tried and true. As pointed out by the pioneers of modern-day CBD tampons, cannabis has been used intravaginally for millennia.

A doctor treating a patient with painful dysmenorrhea a bit over a century ago found cannabis to be of great value noting, “marked relief of symptom was afforded, however, by the administration of Indian hemp. It relieved pain and diminished hemorrhage, and was highly valued by the patient.”

In fact, medical cannabis was used to treat a wide range of women’s health issues, including heavy bleeding, painful cramps, and PMS, and it was an affront to these remedies when cannabis was outlawed in the 20th century.

But now it’s back, and it’s slowly making headway. CBD tampons can be found online from choice retailers. Their effects are potent, and the price is somewhat steep. At about $11 a pop, it’s a much bigger investment than just a pack of Midol, but the results speak for themselves.

Some users are so adamant about the effects that they’ve taken measures to make their own. Though it may end up costing the same chunk to turn your weed into ready-to-insert cannabis cream, and the safety of sterility could be at stake.

While there are few retailers currently making CBD tampons and suppositories, the trend of increased CBD products alludes to the idea that there will be more to come. CBD-only options are on the rise, but still, there are some that rely on the entourage-effect of THC and aren’t legal in all 50 states.

Final Thoughts

There is still a lot of research to be done on CBD. As it pushes forward into many retail-available products, it seems to hit on more and more beneficial results. While we anxiously (due to excitement or PMS) await the clinical trials of the efficacy of CBD tampons, we’re left with the only option of trying them out.

CBD won’t get you high and won’t mess with your vagina if used properly. It’s here to help in so many ways that for so long seemed helpless. CBD tampons are just another touchpoint of the strength of CBD and our body’s receptiveness to it.